Today was long overdue. It felt like years since Pyrrhic and Riva had had any meaningful alone time together. Sure, she'd been by his side when he'd been sick but mopping up a loved one's vomit wasn't exactly quality time. Her work had been tireless and unending for seasons and to top it off, she'd been pregnant or mothering for the most of it. Now more than ever Pyrrhic was convinced that Riva had been a literal godsend. He owed her a great deal.

A trek through the desert probably wasn't what she had in mind when he'd asked her to come away with him. Hopefully what he had in store would make up for it if she had been secretly disappointed by his choice. He didn't know if Riva had ever been to the oasis but he was hoping she hadn't. If she had she would know what was up ahead. If she didn't, by now she was probably wondering why he had drug her out into the middle of nowhere.

Panting hard, he said, "We're almost there, promise." In the distance he could just barely make out a line where he thought the oasis was located. It was no more than an inky, shimmery smudge at this stage, but Pyrrhic was fairly certain he knew what he was looking at.

The blue eyed Godling had taken her from his brothers pack, and for a trek out into the wilderness. She followed him willingly, knowing that Eligos would look after their little ones. He had been so good with them so far, well Py recovered and Riva worked on her herb garden.

She was a little breathless, to see Py walking beneath his own power, with strength in his limbs. There was power to him, even recovering as he was. She had not spent a great deal of time in a desert before, and she looked with interest to what grew here. “Oh, wait, just one moment beloved” Riva said, delighted at the sight of a familiar plant. She dropped down quickly, and broke off a few heads of the succulent. Storing the aloe vera in her bag to properly harvest and store later.

It took her all of a moment, and then she was up again, and beside the much taller wolf. He sounded a little breathless, and she hoped he was not over exerting himself. She said nothing, but she was glad she had her herb kit on her. She just hoped she wouldn’t be dragging his unconscious body home. Last time, it had taken the help of Eligos to drag Py anywhere.

If she was put off by the trek into the desert, Riva didn't show it. When she called for him to stop he dutifully did, his head swinging around so he could see what she was up to. Pyrrhic was not at all surprised to spy her collecting an herb of some kind. It brought a hint of a smile to his lips because of course, out here in the middle of nowhere, she'd find something useful. They'd done things a bit out of order so he still had a great deal to learn about her. Little things like this helped paint a picture of who Riva was. Pyrrhic found himself thanking god everyday for the woman he'd been given. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined he would find someone like her. Honestly, he'd expected to have to go about it as his forefathers had.

He leaned down to kiss her when she came to a stop at his side. When he pulled back he was grinning, but he didn't say why. Instead, after a moment, he turned back to the distant, squiggly oasis. With a jerk of his head and a sly grin on his lips, he said, "Come on, we're almost there." He almost took off then, but couldn't resist throwing out a sly comment. "Unless you want to pick the desert bare first? There can't be too many plants left around here..."

She was surprised when he turned to her, offering a soft kiss on her lips when she returned to him. She leaned into it, letting out a soft sound of enjoyment, her eyes slipping closed. It was over far too quickly when her godling pulled away. She grinned back at him, her own tail doing a little wave behind her.

She did not know where ‘there’ was exactly, but he seemed to know where he was going. She could only hope he wasn’t addled with sickness and leading them to absolutely nowhere. But, she didn’t really believe that. Not with the confidence in his step, and the assured smile upon his maw. Damn, but he was a handsome wolf. It left her a little breathless. “I thought I would save some for the return trip” she quibbed back, picking up her pace to keep up with the taller wolf. She had to take three steps for every one of his. “Did you want a drink, love?” she asked, thinking of the canteen in her pack. First and foremost on her mind was his health.

Her voice piped over his shoulder as he turned to walk away. She was so thoughtful. If he had been in her place with a canteen full of water in his pack (that alone would be a miracle) it would never have crossed his mind to offer her any unless she appeared on the verge of heat stroke. It wasn't because of a lack of love for her, but a simple inclination to believe anyone who could take care of themselves would. If she wanted water from his pack he would assume she'd help herself. In other words she was a much more attentive and arguably better person than he. A fact he would acknowledge happily. "Oh, I'm good. Thanks for asking, though." Up ahead there would be water aplenty, but he was going to leave that bit out. He wanted the whole thing to be a surprise.

The heat waves rising from the desert were oddly deceptive. Soon enough the pair stood on the edge of the oasis overlooking a brilliantly colored pool and an abundance of lush plant life that was at odds with the surrounding bone dry desert. Pyrrhic stepped aside and gestured towards the idyllic scene with a flourish. "What do you think? The kids are on the other side of the desert in safe hands and we have an oasis all to ourselves."